Colorado Gov. Jared Polis commuted a truck driver’s prison sentence on Thursday who was sentenced to 110 years After a fatal accident in 2019, the sentence was reduced to 10 years.
Roselle Aguilera-Maderos, 26, the man killed Four people on 25 April 2019, Then, he said, his brakes failed on a downhill grade on Interstate 70 heading east outside Denver. Prosecutors argued that Aguilera-Maderos acted negligently and made several poor decisions prior to the wreck.
Police reduced Aguilera-Maderos’ sentence to 100 years, saying in a letter Thursday that life imprisonment was unsuitable for a “tragic but unintentional act.”
“While you are not innocent, your sentence is disproportionate compared to many other prisoners in our criminal justice system who have committed intentional, premeditated or violent crimes,” Polis said in a letter addressed to Aguilera-Maderos.
Polis revealed that a relative of Aguilera-Maderos’ attorney works in the governor’s office, but added that the relative was not involved in the decision-making process.
Polis said the case “highlights the lack of uniformity between the sentences.”
“This was a tragic event that affected many Coloradans,” Polis wrote. “While your actions have caused great pain, I am encouraged by your personal reflection and the commercial vehicle safety changes that were made in the wake of this tragedy to ensure this type of incident never happens again.”
Officials said Aguilera-Maderos was driving a truck with a wooden trailer, which was traveling at an estimated 85 mph, where the speed limit for commercial vehicles is 45 mph. There was a chain-reaction accident and fire involving 28 vehicles.
Doyle Harrison, 61; William Bailey, 67; Stanley Politano, 69; And 24-year-old Miguel Lamas Arrellano died in the accident.
A protest date had already been set for January 13 as prosecutors sought to reduce Aguilera-Maderos’ jail time.
First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King told reporters Monday that the case was “extraordinary” and required “an extraordinary process.” His office was instead trying to annoy him for 20 to 30 years.
“We have the necessary steps for the court and we are most aware of what happened in this case – to strike the appropriate balance when considering a new sentence,” King said.
Upon initial sentencing, Judge A. Bruce Jones said the law required him to serve consecutive sentences to Aguilera-Maderos, meaning they are served one after the other.
“If I had a conscience, if I thought I had a conscience, I wouldn’t be running those sentences constantly,” Jones said.
The public reaction to the sentence for over a century resulted in a petition for commutation which became more Over 5 Million Signatures,